The Power of Ultimate Manipulaton
by Words of love
Summary: How can you truly connect to someone who knows everything about you before you even know their real name, and what is power worth if it means sacrficeing who you are?  Lelouch/OC first story, Please review, thanks!
1. The Girl with many faces

It was in the year 2017 of the imperial calendar and a trade ship loaded with kight-mear frames was sailing from the Britannian mainland to Area 11. However on the deck of this particular trade ship stood a rather beautiful girl wearing a loose fitting white dress, her long wavy blond hair flowing in the wind, and her hazel eyes reflecting the sparkling ocean. The young woman was looking with almost a yearning passion out at the horizon when her reverie was interrupted by a powerful and authorities voice.

"We'll be arriving in about two hours Lucia." The young girl turned from the ocean to see a middle aged man clothed in a naval uniform, his chest adorned with several medals. She smiled appreciatively at the man her head titling cutely to one side. As soon as the girl noticed what she was doing her head snapped back, as if this was a habit she was trying to brake.

"Thank you Captain" She responded, her voice airy and sweet. The gray haired man smiled good naturedly down at her

"Now Lucia, you know you are free to call me Edmond" He told her in an insistent and amused tone of voice. Lucia smiled at this and moved her hand to her head as if she was about to twirl a lock of her hair, however she stopped about half way and returned her arm to her side.

"I know that," She explained, that good natured smile still upon her lips. "But seeing as we are aboard your ship and I am technically a stow-away…" "I prefer unregistered guest" the captain interjected playfully to which Lucia giggled girlishly.

"As you wish…Well I must keeping you from your duties so I shall retire to my quarters till we land. Thank you again for this." Lucia strode from the railing in a way that can only be described as gliding. The Captain made to stroke her golden hair but she swatted his hand away with a mock reproachful glare to which he just smirked.

Lucia walked swiftly to the cargo hold, where a small space been prepared for he between two large crates. It was a humble dwelling with only a hammock, a small mirror, a basin filled with water, and a white curtain in place of a door. Lucia closed the door and sat on the edge of the low hanging hammock and sighed rather loudly. "Honestly the things I have to put up with to get what I want" she thought bitterly as she shifted her position to stare at the ceiling.

The girl held that position for a few minuets, threatening to doze off. Soon she sat back up and looked around suspiciously at the cargo hold, making absolutely sure that she was alone and unwatched. Once she confirmed this the girl's posture changed dramatically from that of an innocent girl, to one of a spy that was deep in the lair of an enemy. She bent down and brought out a large black suitcase from under the hammock.

The girl opened the suitcase to reveal several foam cushioned busts adorned with either a mask, a wig, a case of color contacts, or all three. She reach to the back off her head and pulled at the point where the base of her skull met her neck and pulled off the wig, releasing her own short dark purple locks cut close to her face. She gave her hair a little ruffle before placing the wig on the bust and taking out a contact case. She removed the contacts to expose her naturally azure eyes the right of which was burning with a red bird shaped sigil. She placed Lucia away and looked at her reflection, happy to see her own face again. She wondered absently weather or not this should be the face that she should show the man that would one day rule the world. But she came the conclusion that if Zero was to wear a mask, then it was only natural that she would too.

* * *

Well this is the first chapter to my first story, Please give me any feedback you have. And if any of you are asking this question...it will be quiet a while before you know her real name.


	2. The Stadfeld Home

Kallen sat at the desk in her room and tried her hardest not to fall asleep on her history homework. Her pencil hovered over some questions as she probed her mind for the answers. _Washington's revolution attempt began in 1778 but was eventually thwarted by…wait is the date right?_ She thought to herself beating the eraser side of the pencil on the desk in thought. _I think it is…but then again…when did we even cover this?_ She opened her notebook but couldn't find any notes on the subject, she must have slept through the class.

"Damn it!" she cursed throwing down her pencil in frustration and leaning back on her chair so she could stare at the ceiling. Why did she even need to learn all of this Britannian propaganda anyway? She's effing Japanese!

While in the middle of her fuming Kallen herd the doorbell ring through out the house, then the opening and closing of the front doors. She looked at her door quizzically, who could that possibly be? Curiosity getting the better of her she quietly approached the front door, stopping at the top of the grand staircase so she could peer around the wall without being detected. She saw her mother talking to a woman she didn't know. She looked about twenty, her hair a curtain of auburn that had been artfully swept over her left shoulder, her eyes were a deep intelligent green and she wore a dark loose fitting blouse and a navy skirt that reached about to her calves. She was carrying two suitcases, a large black one which she wheeled behind her and a green one she had slung over her shoulder. Kallen didn't know this woman and they were speaking to quietly for her to hear what they where saying. She began to descend the stairs and her mother looked from the guest to her and became slightly flustered.

"Oh Kal…I mean Ms. Stadtfeld, I'm sorry if we've disturbed your studies. This is Miss…"

"I can introduce myself thank you" the woman said cutting across the maid coolly. Kallen's mother relented and bowed slightly, signaling her to continue.

"My name is Annabeth Hathaway, I'm a friend of your father and I'll be staying here for a while." She said politely inclining her head slightly as a form of greeting. Kallen stood there looking her up and down her arms crossed defensively.

"Why haven't I heard about this until now?" She shot aggressively to her mother, rounding on her violently.

"I tried to tell you miss, but you dismissed me every time." She responded quietly her head bowed low in shame. Kallen scoffed and turned away. "Yha, that sounds about right...How long do you plan on staying?" She inquired none too politely to Annabeth.

"Not terribly long, just until I find something more permanent." She explained shifting her weight slightly to the shoulder on which she carried her bag.

"Why didn't you set something up before you came over?" Annabeth smiled and almost tilted her head childishly at Kallen's curt question.

"It was urgent that I arrive here as quickly as possible and personal connections are among the most effective ways of avoiding time wasting bureaucracies and red tape." Annabeth turned back to Kallen's mother "Now, my room?" The maid nodded and motioned for her to follow. "Well Kallen, it was nice to meet you." She followed the maid down the hall.

Kallen watched the pair walk down the hall, her suspicions about Annabeth growing. She had to be up to something, and even if she wasn't Kallen couldn't just let some freakn' Britannian stay at her house and have her find out she was part of the Black Knights. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pink pouch that concealed her knife and headed up the stairs.

About half way down the guest hall she saw her mother and Annabeth exchange farewells as Annabeth closed the door to the largest guest room. Kallen stalked down the hall her pouch clutched tightly in her hand.

"Oh Ms. Stadtfeld," Her mother said in a submissive voice that carried an almost undetectable trace of sadness "Miss Hathaway is very tired and wishes…"

"Just lay off!" Kallen snapped at her "This is none of your business! Do us all a favor and get lost!" She shoved her aside with her shoulder and continued to the guest room. Kallen's mother looked back at her, her eyes almost giving way to tears. She nodded her head and quietly walked back to her room, silently hoping that she still had enough Refrain to find that little girl who loved her.

Annabeth locked the door behind her and tossed her bag of clothes on the ornately decorated queen bed. She sat down on the bed and almost passed out, she had traveled around the world on numerous occasions but the time differences still got to her. She was about to take off her wig when she heard angry rapping on the door. She sat up and looked at the door quizzically.

"It's Kallen, I need to talk to you" The voice from beyond the door proclaimed. The knob wiggled a bit as Kallen tried to open it. When she discovered the door was locked she punched the door in an aggravated sort of way. "Unlock the door!" she demanded with an irritated tone.

"Alright I'm coming." Annabeth hopped off the bed unlocked and opened the door.

"Why did you come here?" Kallen inquired, not wasting any time. Annabeth gave her a disarming smile.

"I told you, I need to get here as…"

Kallen shook her head angrily "I didn't mean this house, I meant why did you come to Tokyo." Annabeth kept smiling although the corners of her mouth faltered for the slightest second at the clarification.

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you." She started to close the door, but it was caught on Kallen's foot. She forced the door back open and stared daggers at Annabeth, her hand clutching her pouch tightly. Annabeth saw this and cursed silently, Kallen's father had told her that he his daughter carried a concealed knife so that she could defend herself.

The girl racked her brain for some other option but none came to her, she would have to use her Geass. She hated doing this to ineffectual people but at this point it was unavoidable. "Kallen…" Annabeth soothed as she reached out and grabbed her wrist to lower her knife. As soon as her hand came in contact with Kallen's skin she felt an odd sensation. It felt as if her entire being, both physically and mentally, was completely exposed and venerable. This sensation only lasted long enough for Kallen to realize she had felt it.

"…you don't have to get violent with me." Annabeth continued as if nothing had happened. Kallen stood there for a second trying to make sense of what happened.

"What was that?" she asked a little concerned holding her head a bit.

"What was what?" Annabeth asked equally concerned her head almost tilting.

Normally Kallen would just rebuff her and say it was none of her business but there was something in the expression that she had that made her want to tell her. "I just felt strange...I can't explain it."

"Have you been getting enough sleep?" She opened the door to let her in a little, her voice becoming etched with concern.

"Not really" Kallen said her eyes darting down a bit, like she was afraid of being exposed.

"Late nights with your boyfriend?" Annabeth inquired playful, her eyebrow arching in a mischievous way. Kallen gave a convincing shy grin and nodded. "I thought as much, well try to get at least eight hours of sleep, lack of sleep can lead to more serious health issues like…you don't care do you?" Kallen shook her head, her usual annoyed frown returning.

"Sorry, my older brother was a doctor and a lot of his rants got stuck in my head." Annabeth's smile faltered a bit at the mention of her brother. "He's actually the reason I came here… he needs my help, I can't say anymore so please don't ask."

"Oh, really?" Kallen asked unsurely "You just came here to help out your brother?"

Why else would I come? I'm not a politician so why would I be interested in JaArea 11" She corrected hastily her smile falling from her face completely to be replaced with a slightly frightened look.

"Did you say...?" Annabeth closed the door on Kallen and she heard the click as the lock sealed the door. "Hey!" she grabbed the knob and tried fruitlessly to force the door open. "I'm not done talking to you!"

"I'm sorry Kallen but I'm tired. We can talk later, okay?" Annabeth called through the door. Kallen yelled at the door for a few minuets but when it became apparent that she wouldn't get an answer she gave the door one final angry kick and stormed down the hall.

Kallen wrenched open her door and flopped on to her bed, fuming once more. This time her rage was centered around Annabeth. That's all she needed right now, another stuck up spoiled Britannian sticking up the house. The only reason her stepmother hadn't found out she was part of the Black Knights was that she was to sucked up in her own inane life to care about her stepdaughter, but Kallen could tell that Annabeth was different, she would see through her frail excuses in seconds and…then what? _She'll probably turn me over to the military, or if she's a real patriot she might just kill me herself…wait._ She thought back to what she said, or almost said. _She almost called this country by its true name, no patriotic Britannian would do that. Maybe she's different _Kallen yawned loudly_, _She was to exhausted to think about this right now, she'd probably just doze off until tonight's operation, she could deal with the Annabeth problem later.

The girl was laying on the guest bed, her own face smirking victoriously as she had stowed Annabeth away as soon as she was certain Kallen had left her alone. She held her hand up as if examining it. So, the politician's daughter was a Black Knight? This would make things so much easier. She rested her arm over her eyes and laughed softly, so that girl wasn't so ineffectual after all. "I love Geass" she proclaimed softly through her smirk.

A beeping sound interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head to see a light blinking on her laptop, which she had placed on the bedside table. She pulled in over and opened it to see that she had one new message. She clicked on the blinking icon and could barely contain her glee as she read the short e-mail.

**Annabeth, **

**Your résumé and credentials have impressed me, however your nationality still leaves me questioning weather or not I will be able to trust you. The best way to remedy this situation is for us to discus it in person. I shall be waiting for you at the time and coordinates I have attached to this message, do not disappoint me.**

**Zero**


	3. The Useless Mask

It was a few hours until sunrise but Annabeth was wide awake as she stood outside Tokyo Tower memorial. She scanned the near darkness around her for any sign of movement but all was still. She sighed angrily as she shoved the hands into the pockets of her long navy jacket. She walked over to a bench and sat down and examined her phone to check the time. It was about a minuet before the time in the message Zero had given her. She snapped the phone shut, but an instant later it began to beep. She flipped the phone open and examined the message.

** Come to the observation deck- Zero**

Annabeth smirked and rose from the bench; she should have known that he would give their meeting a certain dramatic flair. She tired to open the doors to the monument but found that they were locked. She huffed, crossed her arms, twirled a lock of her hair and bit her lip as she considered weather or not to brake down the door. Suddenly she saw a figure move through the darkness behind the door. Annabeth jerked back to a regular stance, as if she had been caught doing something embarrassing. There was a faint click as the door opened to reveal a security guard. Annabeth was disappointed but her expression was one of apparently sincere distress.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you so late but I came here earlier and I think I must have left my medicine on the observation deck. I just need to…"

"Are you Annabeth Hathaway?"

Annabeth stopped mid-sentence and looked up at the security guard suspiciously. His unfamiliar face was impassive, showing almost no emotion, he didn't even look tired. "Yes." She responded quietly and carefully.

"Show me his message" he commanded in the same flat and emotionless voice as he held out his open hand. Annabeth took out her phone unsure about what to do. She looked for some reaction in his face to give her a hint, none came. She contemplated her actions for a second before opening her phone and revealing to the guard the text message she received. The uniformed man inspected the short message and stepped aside allowing her to enter.

"Do not keep him waiting." Annabeth walked inside pausing a brief moment to observe the guard one last time before continuing to the elevator. She pressed the glowing arrow and gazed into her dark surroundings with out really seeing them. So this was it, she was about to meet the man who would one day rule the world…and she would make him her's. She smiled viciously and gazed at her right hand, bringing it up to her face to examine it. It should be simple, but she came to realize that it almost never was. She heard a slight 'whoosh' as the elevator doors opened behind her. Annabeth confidently stepped in, her evil smirk dissolving into a grateful smile as she undid her coat slightly. She rode the elevator for a few seconds then it halted with a soft chime. The doors slid open to reveal a man in a black cape, suit and mask. Showtime.

Behind the mask of Zero, Lelouch wore an expression of anticipation. "Annabeth Hathaway, correct?"

The woman nodded passively "Yes, it is wonderful to finaly see you in person Zero." She extened her hand, offering it to him. Lelouch hesitated for half a second before reaching out to firmly grasp her hand. However, before he could compleate the simple ritual her hand snaked up and clenched his wrist. He felt her warm fingers brush against his skin as she shook it. For the brifest instant Lelouch felt as though thousands of eyes were glareing upon his naked face. He desperately wanted to brake contact with this woman but at the same time he wanted to apper in control. He gently shook her hand away in a way that could either be interprted as contempt or discomfort.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm a bit mysophobic." Annabeth admited, looking at her shoes as if embarrassed. Lelouch looked down at her and decied not to bring attention to the odd sensation so he simply noded.

"Now then…" He pointed dramatically to the large window overlooking the Tokyo Settlement and the ghetto. "I want you to look out and tell me what you see."

Annabeth walked over to the window and placed her hand comtimplatively on the glass. "I see a fake world." she stated simply

"What do you mean by that?"

"A place where poverty exists, but no one cares. A place where the only thing those in power care about is keeping that power. A place that hides the crule facts of what it is and covers them with gossamer lies…I see a place that needs to change." As she finished her little spiel her open palm gently pressing agianst the glass closed into a tight fist, as if she wished to break through and simply flatten the city below.

Lelouch watched her intently and nodded, his hand slipping inside his jacket as he did so. "An excellent point Ms. Hathaway and I assure you that this change is one of our top priorities, however…" He pulled out a pistol and pointed it squarely at her back. "…I'm afraid you won't live to see it."

Annabeth turned around, her face shifting from a dreamy thoughtfulness to an expression that could only be described as mixture or shock, terror and disbelief. "Zero I…why do you have a gun?" She squeaked breathlessly her hand clutching the area over her heart.

"I believe you know exactly why." Lelouch stated menacingly, advancing slowly upon her. "You are not Annabeth Hathaway; in fact, there never was an Annabeth Hathaway."

"Wh-What are you talking about, I'm right here." She insisted her voice becoming seeped in fright.

Behind his mask, Lelouch smirked, however because she not see it he showed his contempt with a malicious chuckle "You can drop the act. While you may have hacked a seamless personal record digitally, you could never completely alter the physical records, and you have only existed there for three years." He raised the gun to her heart, his finger tensing around the trigger. "A valiant attempt, but no one can fool me."

Lelouch looked up at the imposter's face expecting her to be sobbing hopelessly, to or to be pleading for her life, or to have revealed a concealed weapon of her own. However she did not take any of these actions, on the contrary she was doing the very thing he had declared the most unlikely. The imposter's face was contorted with a mirthless, mocking laughter.

"Oh, I admit you are good." She conceded placing her hands on her hips is a strange confidence. "But in all honesty Lelouch, I haven't even begun to try."

The sock from this statement penetrated Lelouch's confidence with the intensity of a sniper bullet_. How could she possibly know? My disguises and alibis are flawless! Could she have been spying on me? No…she would have attacked me by now instead of agreeing to a privet meeting. How…HOW?_ The pistol shook unsteadily in his hand as he contemplated all the possibilities. "Wh-What did you call me?" He asked in a voice filled with obviously fabricated annoyance in a vain attempt to dissuade her of the truth.

"Oh I'm sorry, do you prefer 'Your Highness'? I could curtsy for you if you like." She inquired with a sarcastic politeness, a smug smirk growing upon her face. Her facial expression did not change, however her eyes had an intelligent pompousness behind them as if they were proclaiming 'I know everything.'

Her proclamation and expression physically unsettled Lelouch. He staggered back slightly, the guns muzzle pointing at the floor. _She knows. Oh god she knows. I should kill her, I _need_ to kill her but…I need to know how she knows. Should I use Geass? No…I'll need it to wipe her memory later. _He recovered from his unsteadiness and rushed towards her, pressing the gun against her temple. "How do you know all this?" He demanded, trying his hardest to keep his voice commanding and confident.

"I fully intend to tell you, but first put the gun down, you might shoot me." She said softly, her voice filled with an aggravating confidence.

Now, Lelouch was furious. He was the one in control here, he was the one with the weapon yet this imposter acted as if this was just a game. "That is exactly what I plan to do!" he declared, pushing the muzzle hard against her head.

Seemingly unfazed the imposter just sighed. "Oh Lelouch…" she mused, shrugging off her coat. " Let me show you why that's a bad idea" She brought her hands up to the collar of her blouse and slowly and deliberately undid the top three buttons. Lelouch was stunned by this, the gun lowering unintentionally as his gaze lowered to her exposed…undershirt? Under his mask, his face softened into confusion.

"You see this?" She pointed to the middle of her sternum, which had a small raise in the fabric, like a rivet was implanted on her skin. "This is a miniature tracking device, if my heart stops it will transmit that I am dead to no less the ten high ranking officials, and I assure you they will take a personal interest in discovering my killer." She stated in a matter of fact voice.

Lelouch contemplated his actions for a moment or two, and then slid the gun back inside his jacket. "There, now we can talk…oh and you can take off the mask, it's just us here right?" She asked buttoning her shirt back up.

"Of course." Lelouch said a little too compliantly. He removed his mask and looked at the woman who called herself Annabeth, his right eye blazing with a bird shaped sigil.


	4. Manipulateing The King

Lelouch pulled down his secondary mask covering his mouth, revealing the rest of his face. "Now then…" He looked in the face of the woman who called herself Annabeth, his right eye glowing with the power of control. " You will an…" He was interrupted by the soft, almost taunting pressure of Annabeth's index finger on his lips.

"I said I wanted a conversation not domination, honestly Lelouch you need to pay more attention. You can turn off your Geass now." Annabeth informed him in that taunting matter of fact voice that aggravated him so.

Her statement shocked Lelouch at first but as he contemplated how she could know all these things about him he finally came to a reasonable and most likely correct conclusion. He swatted her hand away from his mouth, to which Annabeth just smiled.

"So that's it." he mused aloud, the crimson glow fading from his violet eye. He glared at her with eyes filled with anger and irritation, yet there was something that could have been called respect behind it. "You posses a Geass as well." This was simply a statement.

Annabeth grinned and giggled a bit, there could have been something malicious behind it but Lelouch was sure he'd imagined that. "Oh bravo Lelouch, really I didn't expect you to catch on so quickly." She crossed her arms and shifted her weight slightly so that she was leaning on her right leg. "Now then…what is my Geass?" She asked playfully, apparently enjoying the fact that Lelouch had calmed down.

Lelouch considered his response for a few moments before answering. He thought back to that brief bush against his skin and the almost undetectable sensation of complete vulnerability. "You have the ability to gather information about a person through physical contact." He responded confidently.

Annabeth pursed her lips, like she was debating whether or not to be generous. "You're _really_ close." She flexed her hand right hand in front of her face as if it was a weapon of incalculable power. "First, it only works if I touch a part of someone with this hand…" She ran said hand through her hair. "And I don't just pick up bits of information…" She threw her arms open in a dramatic gesture. "I learn absolutely everything about whomever I touch!" she declared emphatically.

Lelouch felt something like déjà vu as she spread her arms for dramatic emphasis, but he paid no attention to it. At that moment he was far to concerned with the power of the woman before him. "So…you know…" he stuttered in spite of himself.

"I know _everything _about you." finished Annabeth gloatingly. "Your likes and dislikes, your fears and dreams, your childhood memories, your plans for the future, even you reasons and reasoning behind said plans." she declared, holding up a finger for each attribute of the outcast prince.

Lelouch was paralyzed with terror; this woman could destroy everything he had worked for! What could he do? He had to stop her. He began to franticly brainstorm ways out of this situation. _Could I kill her?…No, that tracking device would alarm her contacts…or was that just a bluff? Even so, that's to much of a risk to take…could I use my Geass on her and make her forget everything?...no she might have planed for that…but then again she didn't know about my Geass until she touched me so she couldn't have planed ahead… but she knows about it now…she could simply close her eyes or plug her ears…I could force her to look at me…but I'm not sure if I'm physically strong enough…Damn it! _He felt thoroughly stuck, his panic making it difficult to come to a reasonable conclusion.

Annabeth stifled a giggle at the look of contemplative horror on Lelouch's face. "Lelouch, calm down, I have no intention of reveling any of your secrets just yet." Annabeth smirked again as his expression briefly became one of utter confusion before morphing into grim realization.

"So you intend to blackmail me." Lelouch stated with depressing finality. Annabeth just nodded at this.

"I'm not asking much of you Lelouch, I just wish to become part of the Black Knights." Annabeth admitted. She tapped her lower lip, considering what else to ask.

"And I want some high ranking cushy position, one where I don't have to do that much work but still rank over others..." Her eyes popped, as if she had remembered something important.

"Oh and one more thing, at some point you and I are to become a monogamous couple." She added as if it was something she already expected him to know

Lelouch, who had been listening through gritted teeth, became visibly unsettled at this point.

"Wait...why does…" he began slightly flustered at her command only for her to cut smoothly across him.

"I owe you nothing Lelouch, so don't bother asking questions, I will not answer them." Lelouch was about to counter this statement, but he realized that she was right. She held all the cards. She knew his secrets, desires, exactly who to tell to make the most impact and he could not kill her. And he had nothing over her, not even her real face. For the first time in years Lelouch Vi Britannia was completely cornered…at least for the moment. He nodded simply to which Annabeth grinned.

"Very good, now then you have three days to come up with a position to suit my needs and make me a member of the Knights. If I do not receive that message I will expose you without hesitation." Annabeth picked up her coat and pulled it on. "Well then, I am very tired so this meeting is over." She strode past him to the elevator.

"Before you go, I believe I am entitled to know your real name." Lelouch called after her as he settled the mask of Zero upon his head. Annabeth looked back at him, a smirk on her face.

"I already told you, I owe you nothing." She jammed her thumb on the down button. "However…I guess I could give a bit of a reward for discovering that I was an imposter."

The metal doors slide open with a soft chime and she stepped in, placing one of her hand on a door so the elevator would remain open. "The Black Knights are to refer to me as Annabeth but you may call me…" she paused as if contemplating the identity she would give him "Genevieve" she finished with an almost undetectable air of smugness.

"Is that your real name?" Zero asked the mask and voice hiding his regretted anticipation.

Genevieve smiled her 'I know something you don't' smile and released the door, causing them to slowly close in front of her. Before she became completely obscured she gave one haughty declaration "You'll never know."


	5. Caught

Kallen was sneaking around the grounds of her home, trying to reenter the house after another successful mission with the Black Knights. Tonight she was returning at three in the morning…not bad.

She crept slowly under her window, the rope ladder she used to sneak out still dangling from the floor above. All she had to do was climb back up, hide her Black Knight uniform and get a few hours of sleep before school. Still, with only about four hours a sleep she would probably doze off in one of her classes again, most likely history.

Kallen's thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a twelve bit ringtone from a cell phone. She flattened her self against the house before she remembered that she had set her phone to vibrate. That meant…someone was else was trying to brake into her house!

Kallen slowly leaned her head across the side of the house and scanned the inky darkness for any intruders. Before long she found a human shape framed against the night. It was standing absolutely still, as if it could fade back into the darkness if it remained immobile. After a few minutes of stillness the figure began to inch silently to the front door of the house.

Kallen was stunned, what kind of burglar would try to enter through the front door? She slid across the wall to get a better look at the front door. The figure was standing in front of the door and it appeared as if it was searching through its pockets. It then pulled out something and forced it into the door which opened without resistance.

Kallen stood in her hiding place dumbfounded. Who was this guy? How did he have a key to her house…wait…didn't that friend of her father's get a key to the house this afternoon? It had to be her! What the hell was she doing out so late? Kallen shook her head, she was too exhausted to think about this. She scaled up the latter to her room and pulled it up behind her. She sat down on her bed and exhaled, kicking off her boots into the closet. She then pulled her black jacket off and stuffed it in the back of her drawers.

Kallen was about to do the same with her shorts before she was interrupted by her door swinging open. She whipped around and saw Annabeth standing on the threshold, a stunned expression on her face. The two women stared at each other for a second or two before Annabeth jammed the door shut.

Kallen immediately wrenched the door open, her vengeful gaze burning into the back of Annabeth's retreating head. She had discovered her secret, she had to silence her! Kallen raced after Annabeth through the halls of the manor, their foot falls muffled by their socks. The chase eventually ended at Annabeth's room. She swung the door open and tried to close it behind her, but Kallen, only a few feet behind her, grabbed the door, flung it open and tackled Annabeth on to the bed. Annabeth attempted to throw her off but Kallen grabbed her wrists and thrust them down beside her head, leaning over her, her knees beside either side of her waist.

"I'm sorry! I won't tell anyone! I swear!" Annabeth pleaded, still trying to break Kallen's hold upon her. She held fast to her, making her struggles useless.

"I'll make sure you won't." Kallen ensured her voice a menacing snarl as she pressed her knee into her stomach. Annabeth coughed and gagged in pain as the air was pushed out of her.

"Kallen…please." She wheezed pleadingly. "I know it's hard for you to trust me… but I promise I won't betray you." This statement surprised Kallen to such a point that her grip lessened slightly on Annabeth's wrists, however she made no attempts to throw her off.

"Betr… What are you talking about?" She demanded, the rage in her voice becoming tinted with confusion.

Annabeth inhaled a few shallow breaths as she prepared to answer Kallen. "I came here…to help the Black Knights free Japan."

Kallen stared at her, her face shifting from confusion, to naive hope, to betrayed anger in less than thirty seconds. She pushed her knee harder into Annabeth's stomach and griped her wrists so hard her hands began to go numb. "You lair! No Britannian would want to help us!" She declared through gritted teeth.

Annabeth coughed and gagged in pain. She looked up at Kallen's rage filled eyes as her own began to dampen in spite of herself. "Britannia…killed my brother" she gagged, a well worn hatred still within her voice.

Wh…what?" Kallen stuttered, shocked in spite of herself, her grip loosening once again, and still Annabeth made no attempt to escape.

Annabeth coughed as she tried to inhale enough oxygen to tell Kallen her story. "My brother was drafted by the military because they lacked medical personnel. During the war he would save anyone he believed had enough strength to live…and that included Japanese." She didn't have to finish, Kallen could guess the rest. He would have been executed for high treason.

"I vowed…that if the chance came…I would humiliate Britannia and take revenge for my brother." She declared her voice full of a kind of conviction and pride that seemed to echo around the room, even though she only spoke them in a modulated tone.

Kallen thought her reason was believable…but still. "Can you give me any proof?"

Annabeth reached slowly into the front pocket of her coat and pulled out her phone. "Go through my messages and you'll find a message dated a few hours ago from Zero. You can compare the number it was sent by with what ever contact info you have on him."

Kallen swiped the phone from her and clicked through her messages. Sure enough, she found a message from Zero dated about an hour ago. She looked from the message to Annabeth, an expression of confused thoughtfulness on her face. Kallen wasn't about to give up her suspicions about this woman yet…but if Zero trusted her then that was good enough for her. She placed the phone next to Annabeth's head.

"Thank you Kallen…can you please get off me now?" Annabeth asked nervously, a bit of a relived grin on her face. Kallen slid off the bed and looked at Annabeth with a cold intensity.

"I just want to let you know, Zero may have faith in you but I'm not him. If I find out you've been lying to us or if you give me a reason to doubt your loyalty for one second, I swear that I will end you, regardless of what Zero says. Understand?" Kallen's voice was cold and stern. Every word she spoke had a deadly weight to it and Annabeth had no doubt that she would follow this declaration to the letter.

"Per-Perfectly" She stuttered, fear constricting her voice. Kallen turned on her heel and marched out of the room. She closed the door behind her and walked back down the hallway to her room.

As soon as she closed the door behind her Kallen felt all of her vigor drain out of her and become replaced with complete exhaustion. She pulled off her shorts and let them drop to the floor as she staggered over to her bed and collapsed on it. She gave one last thought to Annabeth and the Black Knights before surrendering to sleep.

Annabeth stared at the closed door for a minuet or two after Kallen left. When it became apparent that Kallen would not return she sighed quietly, pulled the wig off her head and set it atop one of the finials on the headboard of the bed. She then removed her mask and set on the bedside table. What was she going to do? This wasn't supposed to happen until she had received a position in the Black Knights. Now…Oh God. Kallen would become suspicious. She would research her identities and see right through her lies. Her entire plan would turn to shambles. No less that twenty people would be after her head! As all of this flew threw her mind she bit her thumb, drummed her fingers and rocked back and forth.

But then she began to take deep slow breaths. Her body began to relax and her thoughts became less frantic. It would be unlikely that Kallen would research that thoroughly, she wasn't as studious as Lelouch. She could make this work. She would reach her goal…she had to.


	6. The Position

Hey. Iknow I've been quiet for most of this fic but I want to start this chapter off with some thanks. So a big thank you to all of those pepole who have reviewed my story and thank you to my Beta reader for catching my mistakes.

Enjoy!

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The time limit she had set for Lelouch's decision was no accident. Genevieve spent that time familiarizing herself with the Tokyo settlement and its people. During this time, she decided that it was identical to the other Britannian Areas she had traveled to yet totally different. The native people had not completely lost the fires of hope and pride, she guessed that this was what made Zero such a successful figure.

On the last day of her observation, she took a walk around the school district. This was partly because she had not yet observed this portion of the city, and partly because she wanted to talk to Lelouch. Around three o'clock she rested on a bench in a small plaza. She spotted a hot dog cart and contemplated getting a water or something similar before a group of thugs surrounded the cart and began to harass the vendor. Genevieve sighed sadly as she watched the insults escalate to physical violence. This is what she meant when it was identical to any other Britannian area. The invaders were drunk off there own sense of power and ridiculed the ones they had defeated. It was human nature, but it still, degenerates mocking those who had worked to find some meager place in a world they did not belong to made Genevieve sick.

She was about to put an end to it when the thugs approached two on looking high school students. Genevieve instantly recognized them as Kallen and Lelouch. The delinquents tried to intimidate them for a few moments before wandering off as if they where bored. Knowing no bigot would tire of harassment that quickly, Genevieve deduced that Lelouch had used his Geass on them. She smirked a bit at the thought, oh to have a Geass that could be used so frivolously_. But then again_ She stole a glance at her right hand _This one fits my plans quite nicely._

Kallen and Lelouch helped the vender back to his cart, ignoring his rehearsed offers for his food. Once the pair were sure he would be alright they left Kallen looking slightly disappointed, Lelouch stoical. At their departure Genevieve rose from her bench and walked purposely to the vendor's cart.

"Good afternoon ma'am, what would you like to eat today?" The vendor asked her through an obviously fake smile. She smiled warmly at him, glancing down at the menu on the front of the cart.

"I would like a regular hot dog and a bottle of water please" She asked politely.

"Of course ma'am, I'll get that for you in a second." The vendor rummaged around behind his car for a second before placing the food in front of her.

"Thank you very much…" she lead on, obviously waiting for him to give her his name. The vendor's smile faltered for a moment as he glanced down nervously, unsure of how to react.

"Sh-Shou" He informed her shyly, as if he expected her to strike him.

"Thank you Shou" She slid some money over to him and walked away with her food. Shou picked up the money and immediately noticed that there was more then there should have been.

"Excuse me!" He called after her. "You gave me…"

"A tip." She finished for him, turning around and winking at him before taking a bite of the hot dog and continuing on. Shou grinned slightly at the extra money in his hand, looks like he's going to be able to buy even more Refrain tonight.

Genevieve ate the hot dog rather quickly as she looked for Lelouch and Kallen. She had finished it by the time she had found them sitting together by a fountain. She was about to find an inconspicuous spot to watch them before Kallen stood up and slapped the sitting Lelouch, quite hard by the look of it. Genevieve smirked as Kallen stormed off, to blinded by rage to notice her.

Once she was gone Genevieve leisurely sauntered over to Lelouch who was rubbing the place where Kallen had struck him. She stood over him for a moment before he became aware of her presence and looked up at her, obviously not amused by this turn of events.

"Quiet the charmer, aren't you Lelouch?" She asked playfully sitting down beside him.

"What are you doing here?" He inquired, ignoring her question completely.

"I was merely taking a walk." Genevieve smirked as she continued "However I did hope to meet with you, to ask about my position."

Lelouch scowled at her, irritated beyond belief by this woman. "I will tell you what position I have appointed you to when I deem it to be necessary." He responded curtly.

"Well Lelouch, you better inform me quickly because you have about…" She glanced down at her watch. "…four hours until prep for tonight's operation. By the time you finish the deadline will have expired."

"I am aware of this" He admitted through gritted teeth.

"I know by now that you have chosen a position for me and at this point you are not telling me solely to spite me." Genevieve informed him matter of factly, as if amused that Lelouch had tried to play prank on her but she had avoided it.

Lelouch looked at her incredulously. That statement was absolutely correct. Did she _know_ this, or did she guess? Could she read his mind even now? Did she need continued contact to gain new information on him or was their a constant link between them? No…if that was true then she should have known what position he had given her. Could he just be over analyzing the situation because she made him nervous?

"Lelouch…Lelouch" He was shocked out of his thoughts and realized that he had been staring at her. He turned away and looked out at the fountain in front of him.

"Accounting." He said flatly

"I'm sorry?"

"I have appointed you as head of accounting."

"Oh…" Genevieve looked down a shadow of disappointment crossing her face "why exactly did you choose that position."

"You said you wanted a position of influence with little work involved, and I think handling our finances fits the request nicely." Lelouch answered her flatly, clearly still harboring more that a little resentment towards Genevieve, whose' face had become a mix of irritation and rage.

"Let's get one thing straight, when ever I tell you to do something, it is not a request, it's an order. I'm going to dance around the situation here, and neither should you." She stared at Lelouch piercingly before she responded, quiet cheerfully. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She stood up and began to walk away but turned around after walking about five feet.

"You don't have to send me the coordinates; I'll just get them from Kallen." She added as an afterthought.

Lelouch was shocked at this, and stood up as if he was about to chase after her. "How do you know…?"

"I'll tell you later. Bye!" She gave him a merry wave before she turned around and walked briskly away.

Lelouch sat back down and his face fell into his hands as he fought back a headache. He could guess that the phrase 'I'll tell you later' from a person like her translates out to 'I won't tell you'. This woman was more trouble than she was worth. But… he sighed and leaned back on his bench. He had to admit, her power and intelligence impressed him. She had bested him and quiet thoroughly at that. He had spent all those three days she had given him to desire her identity but had come up with nothing. Which to be honest was not all that surprising seeing that he only had a name (which could or could not be an alias) and a face (which most likely a disguise).

The only possible option he had not exercised was C.C and he had his reservations about her. Those two could easily be working together, seeing as C.C could grant Geass powers to others and Genevieve could have been waiting for an opportunity to use a power like his. A far fetched idea but with only a passing knowledge of Geass Lelouch could not close off any lines of though at this point.

Finally, he stood up and began to walk back to Ashford deciding that if he was to be stuck with women like them, he would make the most of them and their abilities.

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Good so far? The chapters I have planed are going to be a bit longer so I was thinking of combineing the first few toghter to make the story flow better, thoughts?

Please review


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